How to Choose a Fluoride Water Filter

How to Choose a Fluoride Water Filter

Most people are aware their water needs filtering but they often miss a key element of the water filtering process, fluoride. It’s so important to find a Fluoride Water Filter. Personally, our family has always filtered our water and thought we were doing a pretty good job. Before our health education, we were using a Brita Pitcher water filter from Walmart. Our families used these growing up and we saw it on TV commercials. We had no idea it didn’t filter fluoride. In fact, we didn’t know we needed a fluoride water filter.

While researching the Pineal Gland, we stumbled upon the dangers of fluoride and became particularly concerned. Fluoride accumulates in the Pineal Gland and can cause serious damage. This obviously was a deal breaker for us since my husband has a Pineal Cyst in his brain. We soon learned how limited our Brita water filter was at filtering fluoride and started researching what would be the best fluoride water filter options for our family. Brita filters, along with with almost all water filters sold in retail stores, definitely DO NOT remove fluoride. In fact, they don’t actually filter a whole lot. Mainly it just “improves taste” as it states on their box.

Our own bodies are made up of 70% water and our blood is made up of 95% water. It’s only natural we need to drink lots of it to be healthy. But what happens if the water you drink is toxic? Water is such an important and vital part of our survival. Water is a much healthier choice than sugary fruit drinks or sodas, yet few people are aware of what they are actually consuming when they drink water.

Is your water toxic?

According to the EWG there are more than 300 plus chemical pollutants in our tap water. The chemicals that make up these pollutants are so surprising, you’d never imagine you are downing some of these things on a daily basis.

Chemicals such as:

Heavy Metals Lead and Mercury- Medical and dental facilities produce waste runoff which seeps into the water systems and discharges about 4.4 tons of mercury a year into water treatment centers.

Disinfection Byproducts (DPB’s)- Water treatment companies use chemicals like chlorine dioxide, chloramines and chlorine to kill disease causing microorganisms in the water. However these same chemicals used to protect us cause a reaction with organic vegetation in the water, forming these cancer causing compounds.

Volatile Organic Chemicals (VOCs)- Such as chromium-6, benzene, herbicides, pesticides and chlorine and hundred of other compounds that easily turn into vapors and gases.

Pharmaceutical Drugs- Pharmaceuticals are transferred into water through feces and urine excreted when humans (who take these drugs) go to the bathroom. Water treatment facilities do not filter them out! Crazy Right? We are literally drinking other people’s antibiotics, hormones and numerous other drugs! According to Dr. Joseph Mercola:

“ The 11 most frequently detected compounds in our drinking water are:

Atenolol, a beta-blocker used to treat cardiovascular disease

Atrazine, an organic herbicide banned in the European Union which has been implicated in the decline of fish stocks and in changes in animal behavior

Carbamazepine, a mood-stabilizing drug used to treat bipolar disorder

Estrone, an estrogen hormone secreted by the ovaries and blamed for causing gender changes in fish

Gemfibrozil, an anti-cholesterol drug

Meprobamate, a tranquilizer used in psychiatric treatment

Naproxen, a painkiller and anti-inflammatory linked to increases in asthma incidence

Phenytoin, an anticonvulsant used to treat epilepsy

Sulfamethoxazole, an antibiotic

TCEP, a reducing agent used in molecular biology

Trimethoprim, another antibiotic”

Why You Need a Fluoride Water Filter

Fluoride- Fluoride is actually ADDED to the water supply. It is not regarded as an essential nutrient, but because of much propaganda regarding its “tooth decay benefits” people overlook the extreme dangers of this chemical. Like its link to thyroid problems, male infertility and production of unsafe arsenic levels. This article describes how dangerous fluoride is and says:

In order to understand the long-term dangers of fluoride, it’s important to realize that fluoride is a cumulative poison. Meaning it’s harmful effects won’t be seen right away but they add up over time.

Ninety-eight percent of the fluoride you ingest in water is absorbed into your blood through your gastrointestinal tract. From there, it enters your body’s cellular tissues. On average, about 50 percent of the fluoride you ingest each day gets excreted through your kidneys. The remainder accumulates in your teeth and bones, Pineal gland, and other tissues, such as the aorta.”

Even though over 97% of western Europe rejects the use of fluoridation, over 70% of the US water supply is fluoridated. Seriously? Look at this chart which shows that outside the US, only 3% of countries actually use fluoride in their water supply. People have been opposing fluoride since it was first introduced in the 1950’s. Fluoridation is a fairly new practice, something which began in our lifetime. Its effects had not begun being studied until the 1990’s so this is now something of real concern.

There are various fluoride water filter systems that can be used to filter your water at home. I encourage you to do your research on each individual source (which is what we did) before eventually choosing the right fluoride water filter based on your needs.

Here’s an overview of different water filter options (I’ll get into the ones which are the best fluoride water filters at the end)

Granulated Activated Charcoal filters- These are most commonly used in pitcher filters (like the Brita water pitcher we were using). They remove chlorine and improve the water’s taste, but are not designed to remove disease causing organisms. They do not remove VOCs and definitely do NOT remove fluoride. Brita Granulated Filters Require replacements every 2 months. It’s pretty inconvenient and can add up quickly.

Distilled Water- Distilled water means the minerals have been evaporated out. The issue with this process is that in turn, water will absorb minerals from the nearest source, your body! The distilled water allows pollutants to remain more concentrated in the water, creating the exact opposite effect of what you’re trying to achieve with filtration.

Bottled Water -Contrary to what most people think, bottled water is highly unregulated. Even less than tap water! Pretty much anyone can take tap water, bottle and package it and sell it in stores. It’s truly scary. When compared, most bottled water is just tap water with a fancy label. What’s worse, plastic particles get broken down by light, so the longer your bottle is exposed to any type of light, the more plastic is being leached directly into your water. Plastic leaching bottles have become a huge health epidemic that people are just not aware of! There are tons of articles exposing the dangers of plastic water bottles, Google it! They are also wasteful and hazardous to the environment and it just plain costs more to keep purchasing them on a regular basis. Here’s why you should use glass to store water.

Alkaline Water Systems- In a nutshell, this system uses electrolysis to separate and ionize the water and changes the water’s PH level making it alkaline. Although I believe there is truth in making your body as alkaline as possible, I fell this can be done naturally through the foods you eat. There is a tremendous amount of marketing efforts and marketing material put out by companies that sell these filtration systems. A quick internet search will reveal lots of info on alkaline water filter scams, you can see for yourself, it’s a very controversial subject. All I can say is that these are highly expensive machines sold by multi level marketing companies, which makes me weary of their very steep health claims.

Best Options for Fluoride Water Filters.

Reverse Osmosis (RO) – A filtration system that uses a permeable membrane to filter pollutants from the water. This process removes up to 80% fluoride. RO also separates and filters a high amount of pollutants. The downside is it wastes a lot of water during this process and removes the mineral content of the water. If using one of these systems you would have to find another way to add these minerals back to your water after filtering. The other downside is the replacement filters are quite costly and require replacement more frequently than the next two I will mention. But overall this is still a good option vs the options listed above.

Multi Stage Filters- These filters remove any and ALL VOC’s, endocrine disruptors, heavy metals, DPB’s pharmaceutical drugs and has a fluoride water filter all in one unit. So there is no need to add additional filters or add minerals back to the water after filtration. It does not require manual re-filling just simply put cup or pitcher under the spigot and use. It is truly a complete system which purifies, sterilizes and re-mineralizes the water for you. Quality does not come without a price. This unit is a bit more pricey than the Berkey unit we use but it is well worth it. It requires under the counter installation and since we rent our apartment, we cannot make interior changes to our unit. I wish we were able to install this in our home because it would save us time re-filling our unit each day. This option also comes with a warranty and does not require a filter change for the first two years. So if your family rents an apartment like ours, you may have to opt for a countertop unit, until home installation is an option for you. But if you are a homeowner and can afford this option, I would definitely recommend a multistage filter. Radiant life has a 16 stage filter which will be our next purchase, and they also sell other natural products that we use as well.

The Fluoride Water Filter We Use

Solid Block Carbon Filters- Solid block carbon filters have been named by the EPA as the best option for removing VOC’s, pharmaceuticals, heavy metals and pesticides. This option uses solid block of carbon vs the granulated carbon used with pitcher filters. The solid carbon block attracts the toxic molecules and attaches them to the carbon block’s surface. This allows for literally YEARS of use as the carbon block can be cleaned multiple times before needing replacement. Solid Block Carbon filters are optimal because they filter VOC’s heavy metals, herbicides, pesticides, bacteria, parasites, nitrate and nitrates but still leave the beneficial trace minerals behind so you don’t need to add them back in as with Reverse Osmosis. This is the fluoride water filter option we chose, the well renowned, Berkey filter.

Why we chose the Berkey:

The Berkey is gravity fed meaning it requires no electricity to operate and uses gravity to drip down into a lower chamber.

It offers a fluoride water filter attachment (which you purchase separately) to remove the dangerous fluoride from your water. The attachment is called a Berkey PF-2 Fluoride and Arsenic Reduction Element.

It is so effective at filtering, it can even be used to filter, rain water, pond or lake water (Although I don’t know how often we’ll need to do that,still good to know) It’s portable and can be dismantled, so if we do ever need to take it with us when we travel, we can use it for filtering outdoor water.

It was also the most economical out of all the options we looked at. It will seriously save you money on replacement filters. Previously we were changing our Brita pitcher filters every 60 days. The average water filter needs replacement between 3-6 months. Our size Berkey unit lasts up to 3.7 years before the block carbon filters need replacement! Yes, I said years. Rather than purchasing replacement filters, the Berkey’s carbon block can easily be scrubbed down once it’s pores have become saturated. You simply scrub off the top layer with a scotch pad, which removes the top layer of the filter and reveals a clean new layer ready for filtering.

Berkey Water System Review

We have had our Berkey filter for a over a year now and are so grateful for it! Berkey’s come in several different sizes and it depends on what you need for your family. We purchased a travel size Berkey. It worked for us right now since it’s just us two, no kids. Although we do have a big fur baby (Our Dog Bruno) and he gets filtered Berkey water too! I do wish we had gotten one size bigger since we have to fill it a few times a day. We won’t have to replace our unit for another 2 1/2 years, but we are definitely going to upgrade to a larger size later on. We replace our separate fluoride water filters on amazon about every 7 months. But the black carbon block filters just need a scrub and they are still good to go. This has definitely been the best fluoride water filter for our family and we have no complaints. If you want to learn more check out the Berkey website. They have lots of pictures, videos, brand comparisons and FAQ’s.

I encourage you to educate yourself, take time to research these subjects discussed because water quality is vital to your health and such a huge part of our daily lives.